Presently, operating systems provide a variety of utilities that assist in providing a user access to a secure desktop. Once in the secure desktop, a user is prompted to enter privileged information, such as a login identification, a password, or other forms of authentication (e.g., fingerprint, iris scan, facial/voice recognition information, etc.). If authentic, the privileged information is utilized by the operating system to gain access to secure websites, to grant administrative rights (e.g., allowing the user to install third-party software), to login to a computing session, and to perform other operations normally prohibited to users without knowledge of the privileged information. Often, malicious applications running on the operating system attempt to record the user's privileged information when being input at the secure desktop. Upon recording the privileged information, these applications may gain unauthorized access or rights to protected information. Typically, applications carry out recording, or “sniffing,” of the privileged information by rendering a display area that appears similar to a display area presented in the secure desktop, thereby prompting an unsuspecting user to provide the privileged information. Because these applications can manifest representations of many styles of legitimate display areas, a user is not likely to distinguish a counterfeit secure desktop from a valid secure desktop. Accordingly, the inability to detect a counterfeit secure desktop may cause a user to relinquish privileged information to an entity sponsoring the application, who may utilize that information for fraudulent purposes (e.g., identity theft, accessing confidential files, and the like).